Worlds of Fantasia
by Neona Nyx
Summary: *Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 3, including the secret ending. You have been warned!* It was supposed to be over, but it was only the beginning. The forgotten had returned, threatening to cast the world into darkness. And the chaos that their presence was causing in the worlds allows for some dangerous forces to play around. becoming a chance for everything to come together...
1. Chapter 1

Sora

Now how did this all come about? How did the boy appear in this strange world? How did he open this path?

What lit Sora's way here, and how did he get here?

He knew that he stopped Xehanort and used the power of waking to get Kairi back, and he was free falling into the darkness silently telling Kairi how to find her way home. Sora was going to follow her but a voice pulled him back.

A sweet and soft female voice. The last thing he heard until he opened his eyes and woke up here. A strange city of night, with brightly lit streets and yet no people.

"Hello! Anyone out here!" Sora called out as he looked around looking for any signs of life.

"Who are you?" a voice asked, it sounded close and it caused Sora to jump, and quickly turn around to see a figure in black. Sora couldn't see the woman's face underneath the hood of her long coat and the bottom half of her face was covered with a strange mask. Something that looks like a demonic fox mouth. The only other things that stood out was the red hair that fell from one side of the hood and the scar that ran up her stomach and chest.

Something about this newcomer that set Sora's nerves on edge made him summon his keyblade.

"Woah!" she said putting her hands up, "I don't want to fight, I'm just wondering how you ended up in a place like this. You're not from here… in fact, there's only one other here that has a weapon like that but she's not of this world either."

Sora tilted his head in confusion, then he asked, "you know what this is?"

Sora held up the keyblade in front of his face.

"Follow me," She said becking Sora to come towards her, "I'll explain once where's not out in the open. You have a dangerous weapon kid and if the wrong person saw they keyblade you weld who knows what they'll do."

She started to walk away before Sora had a chance to say anything except for, "Hey! Wait up!"

/

Kairi

"Even with all your magic, you can't find him!?" the young redhead who just spoke looked about ready to cry when she heard Merlin say that he couldn't use his magic to find Sora. The wizard was her last hope to find him and make things right. If she only trained harder than Sora wouldn't have to keep saving her.

She was sick of being the damsel in distress! And for some reason it kept happening, there were those who made her appear to be helpless.

She hated it.

She was angry at herself!

But that's why she was here, back in the place that was her home — the place before the islands.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said, "have you tried to ask Yen Sid. He would most likely would know more than I."

Kairi looked at the ground.

"Since we left without telling anyone, that might not be the best idea," one of Kairi's companions said, she was with two boys that appeared to be about her age. Both appeared to be identical. Though only one when into Merlin's house with her.

Roxas stayed out, seeing a pretty brown haired woman carrying gardening tools and offering to help her.

A woman Kairi only met once in another world. Aerith. And for some reason, there was a sadness in Aerith's green eyes that Kairi has never seen before.

Even as Kairi tried to talk to her the woman kept looking off into the distance, unconsciously doing that

She would have tried to talk to Aerith more but the restoration committee member had some work to do, that she was the one who constantly tended the garden- looking as if she couldn't believe that they had full rebuilt the world.

As for the other boy with Kairi, Ventus went into the house with her as Roxas and Aerith walked away from town. Towards the bigger gardens, though Roxas stayed silent.

As for the other two in the group, they now needed another plan. Before the rest of the seekers of light caught on, then they would be in trouble… mostly from aqua who was most likely making herself sick out of worry because Ven wasn't where he should be.

Not to mention that Kairi would never hear the end of it once they realized that Xion isn't her from both Riku and most likely the King.

But what they were doing is important.

"Are you sure? You don't have a book or item that would help us?" Ven asked, "Please we just want to bring Sora home."

"I might have something then… I think," Merlin said.

/

?

A strange woman sat at a bar, swirling the brownish drink in her hands as she felt a shift around her.

"So another round between the light and darkness is just beginning," she muttered to herself, before knocking back the glass and allow the liquid to burn her throat as it went down. Allowing the sweet taste to numb her mind as she tried her best not to remember her past.

What she had a part in, what she had caused.

But every time the balance between the forces of light and darkness shifts, the woman felt it. She had no choice…

She was the last of the forgotten… the only one who wasn't lost… until today.

The masters of old had returned.

` "need around round?" the bartender asked breaking the woman out of her thoughts.

"Keep them coming," the woman replied, "don't stop until I pass out."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sora**

He was still walking through the brightly lit streets with the strange woman who refused to say anything to him as they walked. Not even a small conversation to make him forget about the silence around him.

The stranger would just listen to his words but would keep looking around. Her body tense, making her appear that she was ready for something to come and attack the pair. At first, Sora thought nothing of her actions until they reached a point where the streets began to dim around them. Yellow lights slowly turn to ones of blue and red that caused things to be hidden in the shadows. And Sora was starting to understand why this woman was acting strangely.

Every little soft nose that quickly flew past his ears made him tense up like her.

"Almost there," She finally said, causing Sora to jump yet again from the sound of her voice in the silence- even though she was slightly ahead of him now.

The pair turned into a dark alley, and at the end, Sora could see others up head. People who looked around like the woman did, at least until they saw Sora and the woman with him.

"Wil!" one of them shouted, a girl with brown hair who ran towards them until she saw Sora and paused, "Who are you."

"I'm Sora," Sora replied, "and I'm not sure where I am. But… Wil- wasn't it?- found me."

"He's from another world," Wil explained, "just like us."

"Wait, what?"

"Well bring him inside before they find us," the brown-haired woman said

/

The inside was bright, and it caused Sora to squint his eyes as he tried his best to get used to the bright white lights that were fixed to the ceiling of a spacious brightly colored room- which did not help his eyesight at all.

"Sorry, about the light kid," a male voice muttered, "you'll get used to it soon. Try blinking a few time."

A suggestion that might have seemed a little far fetched, because Sora would have gotten used to the light soon. But he blinked a few times anyway, and sure enough, everything began to focus better, and his eyes stopped hurting.

He could now watch Wil remove both the mask and her hood revealing a doll-like face with blood red eyes- eyes that matched her hair which still hung from her side. She also had braids on the left side of her head to help keep her hair on the right side. She was terrifyingly beautiful.

"So… are all of you from different worlds?" Sora asked as he looked around at the small group that gathered. The two women along with three men (though two of them appeared to be slightly older than Sora), all of them looking at him as they tried to think about their answers.

Wil was the first and the only one to reply, "yeah, all from the same world. We all landed here or on another world that's close- and being able to travel around the galaxy that connects these clustered worlds together- after our world fell into darkness. Though even after we heard it was revied, we haven't found a way to return home."

Wil paused to look at him, "what about you? What happened to your world and why do you have a keyblade."

Not the… but A… _oh yeah she mentioned that she'd met someone like me, _Sora thought as he felt shocked at first, but then remember her first words to him. Though the others… they were completely shocked at the new revelation that their… friend (?) just spewed.

"Really? Him? But he's just a kid!" a dark-haired man said, a man who kind of reminded Sora of an older version of Riku… though that might be due to the similar hairstyle and maybe their clothes looked alike too.

"He doesn't look that much younger than you, Noct," Wil said crossing her arms, "and his age isn't what's important. Where he came from is!"

"Why?" Sora said, "why does it matter? The dark wielders should be gone."

Should be, Vanitas would be the only one left… if he didn't completely fade back into the darkness. Though at the same time is there such a thing as dark keyblade wielders?

Wil looked at him with an emotionless expression, "we just want to make sure you didn't come from the realm of darkness? We already have a lot of-"

She paused, Wil's expression turning sheepish before she continued, "we already have problems and don't need a gate to open that would allow the creatures of darkness to pile out."

Sora shook his head, "I didn't come from the realm of darkness… at least I don't think so. I used the power of waking to save _her… _Kairi."

"What's the power of waking?" Wil asked.

"I'm not sure how to describe it," Sora put a gloved hand over his heart, " I can return a heart home or save it… I think. I made sure Ven's heart return to his body. I patched my friend's hearts and bodies back together. And I made sure Kairi returned home."

Tears started to fall from his eyes at that last part. Oh, what he wouldn't give to return home and see everyone again.

"Can you find a heart too?" the brown haired woman asked.

"Rinoa!" Wil snapped.

"What? It might be the only way to find him!" Rinoa replied, "Since you and Zack are having a terrible time locating him. And if it would help protect-"

"Shush," Noct muttered, "Let's not drag the kid into that! Who knows what they will do, especially Genesis and Sephiroth. The kid won't last long against them."

"Sephiroth…" Sora muttered, "Sephiroth is here!?"

Sora hasn't seen him after the fight with Cloud, a fight that made both of them disappear. Could Cloud be here too?

"How do you know him," they all asked, the volume of their collective voices making Sora cringe a little bit.

"Well… where should I start…" Sora muttered.

/

Roxas

"Why does this garden look different than the others?" Roxas asked noticing that unlike the other gardens they worked on or walked past the other ones. But unlike the rest that had these beds of the same flowers but different colors. But these? Different colors and petal shapes, different flowers.

"I wanted to grow everyone's favorite flowers, or at least try to," Aerith said as she smiled sadly, "other's who are lost."

Roxas tilted his head wondering why she said lost and not gone. But before he could ask, Aerith continued.

"I wish they would come back…" she said, slowly getting lost in the past.

"Who?" Roxas asked, already knowing the feeling of losing someone close to him… and he knew Ven felt it too. Sora kept them safe in his own heart binding them together like they were brothers, and now he was gone. And everyone desperately wanted him back.

Aerith sighed after thinking about her answer, "there's quite a few that are missing, too many names to list."

"Must be hard," Roxas muttered, "to be only left with just a memory of your friends."

"And it only gets worse when you remember all the times you had together," Aerith muttered, "as a child, we would all play hide and go seek here. It took hours just to find Cloud, Willow, and Noctis."

"That sounds like fun," Roxas muttered, "I wish I could have experienced something like that."

But Roxas was a nobody who recently was giving his own heart and body, and while he may have had Sora's childhood memories… there weren't his own. He never got to experience what it would be like to run around with friends or to be little kid. Sure he could run around with his new found friends and family; he would never have the chance to experience a real childhood. Physically he just turned seventeen… like Sora. He missed his own birthday.

_Once you find him we can all celebrate, _Roxas thought as sadness filled his heart, that this wasn't the time to be clouded by depression. He had something he needed to do- he needed to find Sora!

"What do you mean by that?" Aerith asked.

"Never really had a childhood," Roxas replied and then cringed when he saw the look on Aerith's face. The sad motherly expression made him feel a little bad, like a worried mother with a lonely child. That she felt sorry that he never got to experience what it was like to be a kid.

"I mean that I… Well… I was just never got along with anyone, didn't have friends for a long time- well besides Xion and Axel," Roxas stuttered before he dropped his blue eyes to the ground and looked away.

So he didn't see the new expression on her face, to see the sad look in her eyes. But that look wasn't for Roxas, but she could hear the pain in her voice with her next words. Feel how much she missed the person who now plagued her mind.

"You remind me of him."


	3. Chapter 3

Sora

"Did I saw something wrong?" Sora asked as he watched the red-headed woman leave the room without a word. Though she did have something in her hand, a small and thin box that reminded him of the gummi phone… wait did he still have it on him? Does it work?

Note to self check it later, Sora thought, wanting to know why Wil left the room. He just explained what happened between Sephiroth and Cloud- the final part of his explanation on why he knows who Sephiroth is.

Rinoa shook her head, "she's most likely contacting others, telling them what you just told us."

"How do you guys know Sephiroth? If you don't mind me asking." Sora said.

"He actually used to be a hero we all looked up too," the woman explained, "but one day he just went crazy and attacked everyone… we were all too young to fight, and the adults… some of us lost our parents. We almost lost Wil too; she jumped in to protect a friend. When her blood has spilled both her and Sephiroth were thrown into the darkness. Sadly, she refuses to tell us what happened after that… how she survived or who saved her life."

Sora tilted her head, "and Cloud? Do you know him too?"

"Emo #1," Noct said, which caused him to be hit by Rinoa.

"Be nice," she muttered, then she smiled, "He was the quiet kid growing up… no of us really knew of his existence until Aerith got him to play with the rest of us. We always thought he was from another world, from the way he acted and that he justed showed up one day. But of course that wasn't the case, he was just too quiet. Wanted to be friends with people, but he just couldn't. Until he met the rest of our rowdy group."

"So-"

"Cloud hates Sephiroth because of what happened both Wil and his mother," she said before Sora could even ask his question, "vowed to destroy him, and then… our world feels into darkness…"

"And most of us ended up here," Noct said, "though poor Rinoa here…"

"Not important right now Noct!" Rinoa snapped, then she sighed, "let's just change the subject, please. Something happier."

"Okay," Noct said

/

Willow

She couldn't really hear what was going on downstairs, but the short red-haired woman knew what they were most likely talking about. That Noct and Rinoa were most likely pressing him for more information- the other two most likely went outside without being noticed.

But the kid-Sora- noticed her leaving the room, but she had too.

"That's really what that kid said?" a voice asked through her phone, "he wasn't making up some elaborate story?"

"I believe him," Wil answered, "though his story is unbelievable, the way he told it… well, he's a lucky kid."

"Well, since Sephiroth decided the kid wasn't a challenge he most likely let him live."

"I don't think, was it. There's something about his story that doesn't add up. So many unanswered questions but I don't think Sora knows the answer to him."

"...So what do we do now? It sounds like Cloud made it home but…"

"He disappeared, again."

"Yep."

The man on the other side of the line sighed, "time to start hunting down Cloud again? To see if he ended up here?"

"Most likely," Wil sighed, "but in case Sephiroth ended up here too be careful. I know you can take care of yourself, mostly, but you do have your moments of extreme stupidity."

The man laughed, "I'll try to be careful, but you know me sometimes my stupidity knows no bounds."

"Zack-" Wil warned, "I don't want to lose you too… please."

"Okay, I'll be careful," Zack said, though his voice was started to be drowned out by yelling from his side of the phone, "shit! I got to go… I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, bye Zack," Wil muttered.

"No I love you?" he asked with laughter in his voice.

"You're a dork."

His laughter was the last thing she heard as he ended the call.

/

Wil made her way back into the main room where everyone else was, hearing their laughter echo softly in the hall along with soft barks. Signaling to her that Rinoa let Angelo out of one of the rooms, no doubt the dog wanted to know why there was a newcomer in the house and most likely wanted to play.

Wil's own dog would do that too, but he wasn't here right now.

And speaking of dogs, Angelo must have heard Wil exit another room because the brown and black dog ran towards Wil and she jumped up in excitement.

"Hey girl," she muttered, "I see you met Sora. Are you being a good girl and not causing too much trouble for him."

Angelo barked happily, as she followed Wil back towards the group.

/

Ventus

Ventus and Kairi feel asleep reading, their heads on the table while open books were laid out in front of them. Research, things that might help them find Sora or find somewhat to connect with him. To have their gummi phones reach his- they tried to call but nothing happened, the call just dropped- or to have their hearts connect with Sora's.

But nothing except for rubbish that made both their heads hurt, and they were nowhere near to finding an answer to all their problems.

I could try and call Vanitas and try to convince that... jerk to help find Sora, Ven thought, even though part of him already knew that was futile. Vanitas hated him… he hated everyone, and he chooses Darkness and possibly faded back into it without a second thought. That he was most likely gone forever.

And Ven didn't know why that thought made him sad, but it did. Though he could chalk it up to the fact that part of him was missing, and there was no way to get it back. Granted it was his darkness, but still… he missed that little shit.

"You awake?" he heard Roxas ask- it was still weird to be around him, but Ven was slowly getting used to his doubleganger- as he sat down at the table beside him.

"Yeah," Ven replied, "but I think Kairi is still asleep… the wait is that food?"

Roxas gave him a "no duh" look at he pushed the tray towards Ven, but not before grabbing a bowl of soup off of it first, "Aerith made it a few hours ago, but no one wanted to wake you two. So when I saw you starting to stir, I figured I would reheat it for you guys. Maybe I should have waited to heat up Kairi's."

"Yeah, I think that she's going to be out for a while," Ven replied as he grabbed a bowl for himself, "we could move her… falling a sleepover a table doesn't give one any comfort."

Roxas nodded, "might as well do that now."

Both boys got up and slowly and carefully moved the young redhead over to the bed, though it was more Roxas who carried her as Ven ran over to pull back the covers. But both helped each other to lift her up and set her back down (on the bed).

Then they went back to the table and ate in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Aerith

The brown haired smiled as she watched the three teens help set the table for breakfast, as Aerith cooked. Hearing them chat about things, well mostly overhear their plans to find and maybe rescue Sora. Kids with a plan, and it reminded her of the years she spent away from home listening to Cid and Squ- no it's Leon now. Though unlike her and the others these teens are free to travel worlds to look for a lost friend.

Cid only had time to find Cloud- even though he disappeared on them again- before the paths closed again. And Aerith envied the teens to be able to jump around. To find Sora, who worried all of them with his absence. If they could help they could, but they just can't.

The only world that they might be about to get to is the world Zack went to.

the world was they found Cloud. Though Aerith hopped he, Cloud, just ended up there again. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like he didn't. That he disappeared like Sora did, somewhere that couldn't be reached. But that didn't mean there wasn't any hope, there must be a way to bring Cloud and everyone else home- and that includes Sora!

"Ouch!" Aerith suddenly yelped as her arm accidentally brushed against the hot pain when she reached over to grab something from the counter. But she was too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention to what she was doing.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked the first one to run over to Aerith. The first one to come to help, or at least tried to.

But Aerith was fine the cold water from the nearby sink helped with that; she even looked over sheepishly at the others before she said, "I'm okay. Just lost in my own thoughts and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing."

She removed her hand from the running water to check the damage, then she turned to the group with a sheepish smile and added, "it's not too serious."

None of the teens look too convinced, and her expression made it look like she was still in some pain- or that her burn still stung a little bit.

They said nothing about it. However, the boys did silently plate everything and set the food on the table with sympathetic expressions on their faces. Aerith opened her mouth to say something but before she could a loud and feminine voice cheered, "Food!"

/

Cloud

The bleeding had stopped but he was still in a lot of pain. that last fight with Sephiroth really did a number on him. A fight that forced him into the darkness and he had to fight tooth and nail just to get out of it- he had lost his sword as he tried to get out of the darkness… and he ended up in a strange place. All alone, and on the brink of insanity. He didn't know how long he was in that silent city. He just knew that he was alone and injured with no one to turn too.

But at the same time, something told him that he wasn't alone since there was always food, water, and something that he could tend his injuries with. Not to mention there were times that he swore he saw a flash of a familiar face, but when he called out their name no one answered- maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him… a memory he was being forced to relive over and over again.

A memory that almost brought him to his knees, especially since it forced him to remember everyone else in his life that disappeared on him.

His mother, and how she was cut down by a man he looked up to.

A friend who protected him and it cost her her life

A friend that completely disappeared and Cloud didn't know if he was still alive or not, and it was one of the worst feelings in the world.

His half-sisters who have pulled away from him, or was it the other way around? All he knew from that is that as the world disappeared those who were left behind held onto each other… but Cloud slipped away from them- and Cloud ended up in Hades's service.

There were some things that he regained; his home, some of his friends, a man who was the closest thing Cloud had to a father, and the green-eyed woman that he loves.

But Cloud was alone again, lost in a silent and gray city. A city he couldn't get out off, for it was surrounded by a gray sky and sea. And no matter how much he wandered, nothing changed. The buildings looked the same.

Not to mention that time didn't seem to exist here.

There is nothing… or so he thought.

As he walked around yet again, only this time something was different. He saw the familiar figure again, but they were too far away to reach. And yet they wanted Cloud to follow, stopping for a few moments to make sure that Cloud kept following.

Cloud called out a name, but the figure didn't answer.

After a while, the figure disappeared yet again, almost like a mirage in the desert when one got to close.

But the white… well he didn't know what it was; but it was white, circular, and right in front of him. For some reason, he could hear voices, soft echos that seemed to come through it even though he couldn't see anything but white.

A white that soon surrounded him as he felt hands on his back, hands that pushed him into the light.

"... Sorry Cloud," a voice muttered as he fell through.

Cloud tried to look back but it was too late, in a split second the gray city shifted into a forest. And he wasn't alone as men in armor surrounded him; all looking down at him with mistrust in their eyes and their hands close to their weapons.

"Why did he come from?" a man with a horned helmet said.

"Who is he? Is he a Friend or Foe?" said another, this one coved head to toe in black.

Cloud slowly sat up not wanting to be attacked by the men before him, then he said, "Not a threat…"

He was about to say that he had nothing to attack the men with, but right after he said those first words, something dropped down from the sky and they all watched as a bladed pierced the ground; and the white portal that the sword that had fell from had already faded.

The man with the horned helmet calmly approached the huge sword that was right beside Cloud. A sword that looked so much like his own… oh, wait it was Cloud's sword! But someone had removed the wrappings from it and tied a white feather and note to the hilt. A note the horned warrior took- and read.

A few seconds later, the man looked at him with an odd shocked expression and asked, "who are you?"


	5. Chapter 5

Sora

Sora honestly didn't know what to make of these strangers, and he wasn't sure he could totally trust all of them either. Rinoa was nice, Noct was… well, Sora saw a lot of Riku in him, and finally, there was Wil. She was hiding things, and while she didn't seem malevolent or anything bad but she had a darkness inside her eyes that seemed to weigh her down.

But she was like Cloud and Squ- no Leon, she really wasn't much of a talker; She didn't talk unless she had too which wasn't often from what Sora saw, not even someone as bubbly and friendly as Rinoa got her to say much. And if she chooses to talk, she would do so softly until she saw Sora, which caused her to stop and turn away from the group. Another secret that Wil was hiding… what they were all hiding.

And he got sick of being left in the dark, he wanted to know more about this place and about the people around him. So one day he went down to the kitchen, where Wil was.

"So," Sora started as he sat at a table and watched Wil cook, trying to get her to talk but she refused to look at him, "what are you making?"

The red-haired woman looked up at him with annoyance shinning in her equally red eyes, but instead of snapping at him for bothering her all Wil did was a sighed before she replied, "I'm trying this new recipe… it's chicken with honey and Sriracha. Do want to try it?"

"Yes please," Sora said, then paused when he saw the soft smile on her face. A smile Wil was trying to hide as she slowly plated some food for him.

"I got to rice too, do you want any?" She asked.

"Sure!" he replied, and as she moved slightly away from the stove he noticed something… she made a lot of food. Well, the sight didn't surprise him, Aerith would make a lot of food too, but that was only if everyone else joined. Wil, on the other hand, made too much for four people- at least he thought it was for the four of he stupidly asked, "do you always make that much?"

Her pale skin turned bright pink as she slowly met his gaze, and after a few moments of silence, she finally answered with a sheepish smile on her face, "Well… I tend to eat a lot of leftovers because I really don't like to cook- though it's more... I hate cleaning up afterward. Plus, I live with a bottomless pit who tends to eat for an army some days."

Wow, that's probably the most she's said to me, Sora thought, as she set the plate in front of him. And he took a minute to stare at it. She did put some white rice on it along with the reddish colored meat with scallions decorating the top. It did look and smell delightful, and it reminded him of little's chief's creations (granted he made Sora make the food for him).

And he took a bite, Sora's mouth started to burn, but yet the sweetness helped cool it down. It was good, even though it did cause some tears to form in his blue eyes because of the heat of the dish and pretty soon his plate was empty.

"... could I have more?" Sora asked.

Wil actually gave him a genuine smile, before she answered, "yes."

Another plate of food, but this time Sora at slower, not wanting to finish too soon. Plus if he sat and ate he could ask his questions and hopefully she would have no choice but to answer. But at the same time, he needed to start small, and slowly make his way up to the harder and more serious questions. But he didn't know where to start, he wanted to know about this strange place, but at the same time maybe he should understand her better; and figure out why she seems to see a lot more than she lets on.

"So… why don't you tell me about yourself," Sora asked, hoping that a simple question like this would get her spill all if not most of her secrets or at least let him understand her better. Maybe trust her more.

Wil looked at him for a moment, "What do you want to know?"

"Hmmm…" Sora had to think about that, he could ask something stupid or ask something that might anger her. He chooses the stupid question, "what was it like to grow up in Radiant Garden with the others?"

A sad look appeared in her eyes, then she opened her mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

_Why did the young red-haired girl even agree to this, to let strangers draw on her leg? Well, not really her leg, but they did draw over the neon pink cast that was on her right leg._

_Instead of playing like the others a small group of children either sat or talked near her or they brought out a bunch of markers and were now drawing on her and leaving her with squiggly drawing of flowers, puppies, and other things she could not recognize (though those were drawn by this tiny black haired boy named Noctis). So far the flowers looked the best, but she wouldn't say that out loud for fear of losing the only company she's had in weeks._

_After that horrible ballet recital, she was left with a broken leg… and after that, her already broken life started to crumble around her even more. The last look her mother gave before she disappeared… the nightmares of that man that caused her back to burn in the morning… the crazed look her half brother would get as he started into something._

_She was so scared that she had refused to be around anyone. Until she met this cranky man named Cid, a friend of her missing father, he found her three night ago in one of the alleys with nothing more than a thin blanket and a small box she used as a pillow. Wil ran away from home and who knows what would have happened if Cid never found her and took her to a woman named Edea._

_Hence why she was here now, Edea's Orphanage was near the only park in town where all the children gathered. How she meets the others; Aerith, Riona, Noct, Serah, Claire, Cloud, Squall, and Zack. and she only met them because Riona had pointed her out to the rest… well, she did the same with Cloud and Squall but still she was the reason why everyone was together. Her energy and happiness seemed to draw people in, or in Cloud's case, she would also drag people over to them._

_They made her happy… they made her forget about everything that's happened._

…

_Another thing to note about her childhood was how Wil would sit in a kitchen on rainy days, just watching Edea cook. Taking notes over how the dark-haired woman would bake them treats. At least until Wil was able to do it herself._

_She might not be the best at everything; she couldn't draw, she couldn't practice swordplay with the boys, or dance anymore. But at least she found something that she loved to do._

"_So… how does it taste?" she asked the three boys who sat at the kitchen Island — coming inside to play with Wil- only to find her pouring cake batter into a pan and covered in flour and sugar- and to find shelter from the storm that came out of nowhere. Boys who became the perfect taste testers._

_And they usually liked what she made, like the lemon and raspberry cake that just came out of the oven. Which they were too busy eating to tell her anything, though that was a good sign that they love it._

…

"Do you miss everyone?" Sora asked as soon as she was done talking remembering, though he wasn't sure she meant to tell him all that. Especially the part about her family, because of the sad, scared, and shocked looked that appeared on her face, but she still managed to continue on. Telling him about two different points in her life. Giving him a sneak peek about the kinds of relationships she had with everyone.

"Most days yes," she answered, "though some days it's hard to remember life before I came here. I might still remember my friends growing up but for the most part, I know nothing about the people they became. Besides a select few, I haven't been around them in years. I'm nothing more than a stranger now."

"I can relate to that," Sora muttered, "so much has happened to me in a short amount of time that I don't really know who I was before now."

Sora paused and summoned his keyblade, "ever since I got this I've become someone different. So much got pushed upon my shoulders and I tried my best to keep everything together. To keep myself the same kid I was but to make sure I saved everyone… but no matter what I did I still changed. I might not have seen it at first but I'm not the same boy from the island."

Wil gave him a soft smile, though it was a smile full of pity, "I had someone tell me that change is inevitable, and the more you try to prevent something the closer things are to unfold. I find it easier just to let things happen… no matter how good or bad they are. Otherwise the outcome might just become worse."

Sora nodded, agreeing to her words, "I think I get that now. All I can do it get stronger so I can find my way back home… do you know if there is a way to contact my friends, to tell them I'm okay."

"I might know someone who might be able to do that."

…

Riku

His head hurt, and he wasn't sure what was going on exactly. One minute he was talking to Terra and Aqua as they discussed how they were going to find Sora and the three who decided to find them on their own.

But then he heard it. A voice, dark yet oddly comforting. It was calling out for someone but Riku wasn't sure who.

The next thing he knew was waking up somewhere strange. It kind of reminded him of the world that never was only it was real. A city covered in night, and yet it wasn't darkness.

But he was alone.

Or at least that's what he thought…

…

?

An eye red as blood and an eye blue as the sky stared down at the dark blob on the streets below — a person who appeared out of nowhere.

Who was he? where did he come from?

And why did he look like Yozora himself?


	7. Chapter 7

Roxas

Even after Roxas separated after the first time, he could still see what went on after Sora awakened after a year of Namine fixing his memories. Though he really didn't think much about what he saw until now, because in his clenched fist was a black feather that belonged to a strange and cruel being. Sora fought him, and then that Blonde man stepped in.

Roxas could see the memories flash before his eyes while the echoes from the combatant's blades clashed together. He didn't like to listen to the sounds of the past. He didn't want to think about what he saw.

That silver-haired man with the black wing could have killed Sora, and the fact that there were still black feathers littered all over the place made Roxas feel on edge. What did the man want? What was he here to do? Who was he going to harm next?

"Roxas," he heard a voice called out echoing threw the crystal cave he stood in. Aerith's voice… why was she looking her him? Or how did she know he was here?

"Yes," he called back without looking back to where she was, still trying to have those memories fade to the back of his mind.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, "you missed lunch… so I… I got you something to eat."

"Thanks…" he muttered as he turned around to see her approaching him. Hanging from her right arm was a basket full of flowers, and in her hands was a plastic box that smelled really good- his lunch!

She was smiling at first, but it faded, "are you okay?"

Roxas tried his best to lie, to say he was okay, but as he muttered, "I'm fine," under his breath, she raised a brown eyebrow at him.

"You're not a good liar," Aerith said, "please tell me what's on your mind."

He really didn't want to talk about the darkness stalking them all, part of him wanted to, but he didn't know how Aerith would react. Maybe he could ease her into it while getting another thing off his mind.

"Do I really remind you of him? Of… of Cloud?" He asked, which turned her concern into shock. She never mentioned Cloud to him, and she knew that the others wouldn't have either. None of them brought Cloud up, well besides a few side comments here and there.

"How do you know his name?"

"... From Sora, I've seen his memories," Roxas said as a sad smile spread across his face, "He looks up to Cloud, well Squall too. I'm… I wasn't a real person. I'm a nobody, or I was. I was Sora's nobody."

When she didn't say more, he continued, well, he mainly talked about how he knew about Cloud threw Sora's eyes and… how he came to be- the shortened version, mostly how he was wondering threw the darkness by the organization who wanted to use him for his connection to Sora. And even though he really didn't want to make her cry, he couldn't stop her tears from falling from her emerald eyes.

_Oh crap!_

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to."

"No, it's alright," Aerith said, whipping away her tears, "it's just hard to hear. Sorry for crying."

She handed him the box of food before leaning against one of the walls of the cave. Allowing Roxas to eat and think in silence.

...

"Umm, Aerith," Roxas swallowed, finally bring up what was most on his mind, they were no longer in the crystal cave"do you know about the silver-haired man with the one black wing?"

Aerith stopped walking and looked at him, "please tell me you only saw him threw Sora's memories, and not here."

She looked heartbroken and extremely terrified, then she turned her gaze away from him and towards the sky.

"No… well… I never saw him, it's just," Roxas muttered, taking out the feather he was hiding, "But I found this."

Aerith continued to look up at the sky, looking for something, looking for him. The Evil that has haunted this place since she was little- the one who made it easier for the witch to take over their world.

"We need to get inside," she said, "Now-."

"Look out!" Roxas heard Ven call out as both him and Aerith were pushed down.

And that's when Roxas saw it... a black wing that was attached to a silver-haired man. Roxas didn't know why, but for some reason, the presence of him just pissed him off.

"Hello, little Cetra…" the one-winged "angel," said, his gaze solely on Aerith.

But before she could say anything, the man smirked and launched himself towards her.

…

Aerith

Faster than anyone could blink, a small ball of ice hit Sephiroth, sending him back only slightly. While the others around slowly noticed that Aerith had not only dropped her basket but was not holding a metal staff in her hands. Getting ready to cast another spell at Sephiroth, but the ex-soldier recovered way too quickly.

Not to mention that she wasn't that well versed in Black Magic like she was with White Magic. So when he came flying back to him, she held up her staff in a defensive position- though she knew it wasn't going to do much against the likes of him.

Aerith had braced herself for impact, but Sephiroth's attack never came.

"Roxas!" Kairi called out as the young blonde pushed Sephiroth back… a key blade in each of his hands. And a look of pure anger on his face as he beat against his opponent.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ventus**

Ven was panicking, between being in an unknown location and the fact that he was alone needless to say that he was afraid and worried. The last thing he remembered was Roxas's Oathkeeper keyblade started to glow, a glow that would grow brighter as he fought that man with the black wing. Then the become was blinding, and when it faded, Ven first noticed the snow that surrounded him.

But how did he end up in this place, a different world from the way it looked. He turned to the others, only to realize they weren't there. He tried to call out their names, but to no avail, he was all alone in a land covered with white and gray. It was cold, and his eyes burned as he stared at nothing but white.

_Where did the others go? _Ven thought as he walked around, hoping to find someone to help him. Preferably one of his allies. _Aqua is going to kill me… if she can manage to find me! _Then again, at this point, he would rather deal with Terra and Aqua then to be stuck alone.

_Roxas, what have you done?_

_…_

**Zack**

"Hey Zack," a voice broke him away from his thoughts- and the barking dog helped with that too, "I think there's something wrong with Koda, he's difficult!"

"I got him," Zack told the man holding his large black and white dog, Snow Villiers relinquished his hold on the dog. Zack barely had time to shout, "what's out there," before Koda ran off into the snow.

"Koda!" Zack called "not so fast."

The dog ran, barking along the way. He was looking for something. Did he pick up that sent? Could this mean that Zack finally found him?

Then as quickly as he started to run, Koda slid to a stop. A second, later, Koda's paws began to dig into the snow. His barking turned into soft whines.

"Hey, whatcha-" _got there, _Zack started to say until he noticed a familiar figure passed out and almost buried in the soft and cold fluff. It brought on an old memory; from a time he tried too hard to be a hero and reminded him of those he met. This kid on the ground looked a lot like…

"Ventus?" Zack asked, kneeling and turning the boy onto his back, "Ven! Hey, Ven wakes up."

Zack did manage to get the boy to groan a little, but he didn't open his eyes. Ven also felt cold… extremely cold. He had to get Ven to get out of the cold.

"Hold on, Ventus," Zack said as he picked the boy up, "I'll bring you someplace warm and safe."

…

**Ventus**

Ven woke up and covered in water, well it was dog slobber as this furry blur licked his face.

"Okay, okay, stop it, boy," a voice muttered, as the dog was pulled away, revealing a dark-haired man with incredibly blue eyes. And something about him looked familiar, though this man looked a little older and his hair was longer than the boy Ven was thinking off. Plus, he shouldn't have made his way to another world- not without help at least. Still, he looked like the teen who wanted to be a hero.

But…

"You alright, Ven?" the man asked.

Words cannot describe the shock that took over Ventus as he asked questions of his own, "Zack?"


	9. Chapter 9

** Cloud**

He wasn't sure what to think of the other around him. To him, they looked like the knights Cloud, and the boys would pretend to be. Though these men where the real deal, they didn't have paper or cardboard armor or wooden swords. They weren't carefree; instead, they were on high alert as if they were expecting Cloud to attack them.

The one that seemed to be the leader, the one with the horned helm, kept looking at him, studying him. Was it because of the note someone left on Cloud's sword? Were these people possible allies or enemies? Honestly, he didn't know. They took care of him and welcomed Cloud as their own, but the years of being on his own taught him to mistrust the "good" intentions of others. Most have ulterior motives, like some of the kids he grew up around… and then came Aerith and later Rinoa, who literally dragged him and squall into their group.

"What?" Cloud finally asked the man who kept looking at him, "Do you have a problem with me or something?"

"Sorry," the man replied, "I didn't mean to stare. It's just… you're a strange one."

"What do you mean by that," Cloud muttered, not bother to hide his annoyance and rising anger. He hated it when people looked down at him like there was something wrong with him. He had more than his fair share of people looking at him like that, because of the adults on his homeworld- he had more people who hated and scorned him than loved him.

The man before him had a similar look. He looked at Cloud like there was something wrong with him.

_The man sneered down at Cloud as he hid behind his mother Claudia, Raine Lore, and a woman named Edea as they shielded him from the angry father before him. Cloud didn't do anything to the man or his family._

_But how dare he try to get close to his precious daughter. _

_Cloud was a boy with no friends. He didn't know how to talk to the other kids his age. _

_In fact, some of the other kids thought there was something wrong with him and attacked him… and that's when he met this sweet brown haired girl with vivid green eyes. She gave him the confidence to finally get the courage to talk to the others… Aerith was something special._

_But he was met with scorn and distaste from the kids he wanted to be friends with. They ran off and left him behind…_

_He didn't get near his daughter. He didn't talk to Tifa at all… he wasn't able too_

_He was a boy born to an unwedded mother and most shunned him for that. So he was surprised that once the man started to yell at Cloud to stay away from his daughter, the matron- Edea- got between Cloud and the man before him._

_It wasn't long until his mother came running along with another woman, who had a son around Cloud's age._

_Squall Leonhart-Loire became a good friend to him._

_While there was some who truly cared about him, there were others who looked down._

"I'm sorry," the man finally said, forcing Cloud to break out of his thoughts and looked at the man in shock as the horned warrior continued, "It's I'm not sure what to think when it comes to you. You weren't born from this world… you're like the others I've met. Though unlike him, your light is residing in someone else, isn't it. Your darkness isn't malicious or harbors ill intent. Because it doesn't touch your heart, it can't eat your light."

"How do you know all of this?" Cloud asked.

"I am a warrior born from light," the man said, "the Warrior of Light is what they call me. I'm one of the ones who protect this world from the darkness and chaos."

**Wil**

"Yeah, the kid is asleep," Wil said over the phone, "I was going to take him to Hope in the morning. He wants to find a way to contact his friends."

"And the other two?" a female voice asked, the warm and worried motherly tone gave Wil confront will all the uncertainty of everything going on. Though she didn't give any indication to it to the others, Wil was worried and afraid. But her adoptive mother's voice helped elevate that fear.

"They'll come with," Wil replied, "Rinoa wants to get out of here, and I think Iggy is lifting the restriction he put on Prompto and Noct… We'll be home soon." 


End file.
